ROCKINGHAM — For the fourth straight match, the Richmond Senior girls tennis team played shorthanded.
Katy Shelley, the Raiders’ No. 2 singles player, sat out Tuesday’s contest because of an illness, which forced coach Paula York to juggle her lineup once again. Shelley’s absence caused her teammates to move up one spot in singles as well as doubles.
The end result was a 7-2 loss to Southeastern Conference rival Purnell Swett. The defeat extended Richmond’s league losing streak to five as well as its seventh straight. The Rams improve to 6-3 on the season and 4-3 in SEC play.
“Today’s match was much more competitive than the one at their place,” York said. “The girls are playing hard.”
Haleigh Denham earned the only individual point for the Raiders (1-8, 1-5) in the third singles match. Denham defeated Kaley Godwin 6-4, 6-1. Denham joined forces with Summer Jacobs to down the team of Falon Strickland and Godwin 8-2 to capture the team’s lone victory in doubles.
In the other singles matches, Purnell Swett’s Kali Strickland stopped Caroline Kirkland 6-0, 6-1 at No. 1 singles. Larrisa Lowry beat Abbi Carpenter 6-0, 6-3, while Falon Strickland got past Jacobs 6-0, 6-4. Jordan Jacobs downed Peyton Hunt 6-1, 7-5 and Joyce Cummings rolled past Meredith McLean 6-1, 6-0.
Kali Strickland and Lowery routed Kirkland and Carpenter 8-1, while Cummings and Jacobs defeated Chelsea Covington and Hunt 8-3.
Richmond will return to the courts at 4 p.m. today at Hoke County. Earlier this season, the Raiders claimed their lone victory, a 8-1 win over the Bucks.
Richmond finishes 2nd, 3rd in meet
LUMBERTON — The Richmond Senior boys cross country team placed second in a three-team meet at Luther Britt Park in Lumberton, while the girls squad was third after one of its runners was disqualified.
In the boys race, the Raiders finished with a total of 44 points, while Pinecrest led the way with 18. Lumberton was third with 85. Brandon Gibson was Richmond’s top finisher, placing third with a time of 17:35. Randy Altman was eighth in a time of 18:55.
Morgan Tedder was the second runner to cross the finish line in the girls meet, but was disqualified for making the wrong turn during the race. Richmond coach Reggie Miller said the course was set up a little different from the week before when the team competed against Purnell Swett and Pinecrest.
As a result, the Raiders had a team score of 65, while the Patriots were first with 44, followed by the Pirates with 60. Ana Rivers came in 11th with a time of 25:12 and Cassie Smith finished 24 seconds later to take 15th place.
“Things happen,” Miller said about the disqualification. “Overall, we ran a good race. We are back home next week and we always seem to run good at home.”
Richmond’s next meet is slated for 5 p.m. Wednesday at Hinson Lake against Purnell Swett and Scotland.
— Sports editor Shawn Stinson can be reached at 910-997-3111, ext. 14, or by email at sstinson@heartlandpublications.com
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